Travis is a shy boy just trying to fit in the Big Apple. But what will he do when he comes in control of the prototype power armor Vanguard and is the only one who can stop a legion of aliens from taking over the Earth?

"Uh..." Travis looked left and right through the holographic screen in the armour. Though its helmet fit his head perfectly, it still felt spacy to him. What he saw looked exactly like the way he usually sees things, except with some random orange-colored rectangles floating around the side.

The moment he looked at Touma, the armour scanned him briefly before finally blinking blue on the holographic screen, almost indicating that Touma wasn't a threat.

"W-What's going on here?" Travis felt very scared. "Wha- What... What am I?" He glanced at his right hand only to see a black-metallic hand. "Wait, this is..."

"Crap." Touma gritted his teeth with a grumble. "If it gets out, the city'll be totalled! If only I predicted a dumb kid barging into the very room I kept the armour in! If only!"

"The city will be... Totalled...?" Travis muttered.

"Yes." Touma glanced back at him. "The only thing that stands a chance against them, in theory, is that armour you're in! I should've put my fingerprints down into its database while I set my voice in! But dammit, my hands were dirty! Last time I eat a Sloppy Joe while programming!"

"So this armour I'm in is the only way to fight?" Travis hands started to tremble.

"Yeah, but its main capability is unlocked via voice command, which unfortunately, is set to my voice." Touma grumbled. "You're currently the only person who can use it, and I'm the only person who can unlock it!"

"... Is there a way for you to unlock it from outside?" Travis asked.

Touma glanced over to the PDA on the desk. "I can probably send my voice over through that. I know you want to fight, but the armour will put a strain on your body once you release its limiter. If you don't know when to stop, it may lead to death. Even so, I can tell you don't want New York disappear off the face of the map. I can sense that. But are you prepared to play hero, even if it costs you your life?"

Travis brooded as he closed his eyes. "To be honest, I was never able to stand up for myself. I'm a bully victim, and I always stood behind my friend... I-"

The loud sound of an explosion rang in their ears, shocking the both of them.

"Crap, the forcefields are down." Touma started to sweat bullets. "Look, none of us have time to listen to your sob-stories. Just answer me, do you want to be the hero who saves the day? YES OR NO?!"

Travis closed his eyes and quickly recalled all the times he was picked on. All the times he was defenceless. All the stories he read about a hero who would appear for civilians to save their lives when they were in danger.

He knew he wasn't qualified to be that hero.

He knew he was the last person on Earth who is qualified to be that hero.

But unfortunately for him, he was the only person who can be that hero.

"I'll do it..." Travis rolled both hands into a fist. "I'll do it!"

vvvvvvvvvvvv

The Cybeast was thrashing the entire stadium. It was slashing at everything it could see. The stadium was already in ruins thanks to its attacks. It was about to head into the exit tunnel when a loud voice caught its attention.

"HOLD IT!" Travis shouted.

It turned around, just in time to see all the spotlights shine on the black armour which stood on the stage with its arms folded, its red scarf fluttering in the wind. The white tinges between each joint of the armour somewhat shone brightly. The single golden horn on the helmet sparkled under the spotlight. Its red eyes lit up, almost as if it warned the Cybeast of an upcoming beatdown.

"I'll be your opponent!" Travis tried to pump as much as testosterone into his meek self.

The Cybeast let out a roar which startled Travis. It charged toward him and leaped into the air before coming down to strike a blow at him. Travis put both arms out and defended himself from the blow, but as the claws struck him, he felt and immense pain as it pushed him back.

"Ouch!" He screamed.

Touma said to him through his PDA, "Careful, though the armour will protect you from harm, getting hit will sting!"

"I think I know that!" Travis shouted back.

He then ran towards the Cybeast and grabbed its arms as he tried to hold it back. It struggled hard, enough to push the Vanguard to its full strength.

Travis grunted as he felt a huge pressure on him. "I got its claws, now what?"

"Now..." Touma, who stood around the top of the spectator's seating, looked down at the Cybeast and the Vanguard stuck in a grapple. He raised his arm up in the air dramatically and chanted into the PDA, "Restriction 666 removed, Physics Driver initiated!"

The Vanguard started to shine brightly. Travis sweat covered his face as it got hotter and hotter inside. He kept holding off the claws until...

It snapped.

He somehow ripped both of the Cybeast's arms off, throwing the Cybeast back. But at the same time, he felt an excruciating pain throughout his entire body.

"W-What's happening...?" Travis let out a tear which was hidden in his sweat. "It hurts!"

"Deal with it!" Touma shouted back. "Now hurry up and kick that thing's ass so I can shut it down!"

Travis gulped and closed his eyes tightly as he bit his lip. He clenched his right hand into a fist and ran toward the Cybeast. With each second, he recalled all the times he was picked on by bullies, all the times he felt useless and channelled it into his fist.

With a roar, he pulled his arm back and then smashed it into the Cybeast's face. The impact when they collided was so powerful; it practically destroyed the whole stage and left a crater in the ground.

The next second, the Cybeast was sent flying upwards toward the night sky before finally disappearing with a single twinkle.

With that, the pain stopped. Travis' eyes closed as he fell back on the broken stage. His consciousness slowly faded as the last thing he saw was a star that blinked out of existence.

Touma neared the unconscious Travis. "You'll have to start getting used to it. This won't be the last time..."

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Erika sat up on her bed, her blanket covering her legs as she wore her pajamas. She stared at her phone with a worried look.

"Travis still hasn't sent me anything..." She mumbled as she put her phone on the small drawer beside her bed. "I really hope nothing terrible's happen to him..."

vvvvvvvvvvvv

"Master... The Cybeast has been destroyed. It was sent flying back into space and it burned up upon exiting the Earth's atmosphere." The shadowy figure stated with a fearful tone.

"What?" The being sounded very angry. "What caused this?"

The figure showed him a holographic image of the Vanguard as it punched the Cybeast. "This."

"... The humans created that...?" The being muttered. "I expect no less of them. We must eliminate it, at any cost."

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Character Profiles: Gina

Full name is Gina Wenstein. Is an excellent student at Belleview High. Isn't in any clubs or teams due to her shyness in interacting with people. In fact, her only friends are Travis and Joshua. She's known Travis since childhood and met Joshua during middle school. She lives with her parents and has a very outgoing little sister. Seems to be the only woman Joshua doesn't hate but doesn't seem to realize it.

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